VILNIUS, September 9, BNS – The Jewish community in Vilnius achieved remarkable things, but also experienced the horrors of the Holocaust which can never be forgotten, Israeli pre minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in Jerualsem Tuesday while meeting his Lithuanian counterpart Algirdas Butkevičius.

The head of the Israeli government said his grandfather came from Lithuania.

“My own family hails from Lithuania. My grandfather was born in Lithuania. The Jewish community in Lithuania and especially around Vilnius had remarkable achievements, spectacular intellectual achievements, but of course we also experienced the horrors of the Holocaust,” Netanyahu said in a comment published on the Israeli government website.

He emphasized how important it is “to preserve that memory and that heritage” to avoid historic mistakes in the future.

Netanyahu said both countries have “a thriving relationship,” noting ties in the fields of economy, technology and culture. He said the two countries should develop cooperation in cyber security, a field where Israel is a “world leader.”

Netanyahu’s grandfather Nathan Mileikowski moved to Tel Aviv in 1930 and changed his name to Netanyahu. Born in Tel Aviv in 1949, the Israeli PM is the first Israeli prime minister born in Israel after the founding of the state.

BNS